Texas Rancher’s Pie–Red Wine & Mustard Braised Beef with Whipped Sweet Potato Topping
Ready In:
8 hours
Servings
8
Good For:
Dinner, Slow Cooker
Ingredients
– 3 lb beef chuck roast
– 2 tbs dijon mustard
– 1 large onion, quartered
– 4 medium carrots, halved
– 3 stalks celery, halved
– 16 oz San Marzano tomatoes
– 5 cloves garlic, whole
– 5 sprigs rosemary, whole
– 5 sprigs thyme, whole
– 1 bottle red wine
– 2+ cups beef broth
– 1 tsp harissa paste
– 2 tbs tomato paste
– 2 tbs whole grain mustard
– 3 shakes Worcestershire sauce
– 1 cup frozen peas
– 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
– 15 baby gold or red potatoes, whole
– 4 tbs butter
– 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
– 1/2-1 cup stock
– salt & pepper to taste
– freshly grated parmesan cheese
– freshly sliced green onion
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Rub roast liberally with dijon mustard on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Using a large slow cooker, layer onions, carrots, and celery at the bottom of the pot. Place seasoned roast atop vegetables. Pour tomatoes over beef and add garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Dump a bottle of fairly cheap but drinkable red wine (I used 2 halves of bottles that had been opened for a few days). Add beef broth, enough to completely cover your roast. Add harissa paste (optional) for heat. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Step 2
After slow cooker is done, carefully remove the beef and shred with two forks. Heat a large, wide dutch oven over medium high heat. Transfer 2 cups of cooking liquid from slow cooker into a measuring cup. Add a handful of ice cubes to remove some of the excess fat. The fat will coagulate to the ice, then simply remove ice (this step is not mandatory). Add cooking liquid to cast iron skillet. Whisk in tomato paste and whole grain mustard. Add Worcestershire sauce. Simmer and reduce until sauce has thickened slightly, approximately 5 minutes.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 350°F. While sauce is reducing, fish out onions, garlic and carrots from slow cooker. You can strain out vegetables or use a spider to do this (reserve some cooking liquid just in case). Chop onions, carrots, and garlic. Add to dutch oven, along with shredded beef and frozen peas.
Step 4
Cook sweet and baby gold potatoes in salted boiling water until fork tender. You can leave the skin on or remove it based on personal preference. Once potatoes are cooked, drain and return to warm pot. Add butter, mascarpone cheese, stock, salt and pepper. Start with just a little bit of stock, you can always add more to get the consistency you want. Mash until smooth and creamy. Taste and season.
Step 5
Add mashed potatoes to top of meat mixture. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese has melted and potatoes slightly brown. Garnish with freshly sliced green onion.
